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What Working Out Looked Like 50 Years Ago

Esquire

13 October 2021 at 11:42 am

What Working Out Looked Like 50 Years Ago

The YMCA was everything.

Vita Parcours became a movement.

People loved group classes.

Calisthenics were still popular.

Fitness devices were flooding the market.

At-home workouts became popular.

Programs for kids became more popular.

And physical fitness was evaluated in schools.

Even the President was working out.

People jogged in full sweatsuits.

Football was the most popular sport.

Training was old-school.

But basketball was a close second.

Outdoor gyms were popping up everywhere.

The medicine ball was still king.

Stationary bikes offered a solid warm-up.

Gymnasiums looked (and probably smelled) the exact same.

Tennis became huge in the United States.

People loved working out in nature.

...like really loved it.

Women often wore leotards.

Men wore short shorts.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was in his prime

So, naturally, weight lifting became huge.

Weight machines wound up in every gym.

Stretching was big.

Especially for the elderly.

Soccer was widely popular, too.

So was skipping rope.

The speed bag was a staple in any gym.

Lots of people enlisted the help of a personal trainer.

The electric belt massager was a quick fix.

Yoga made its way over from India....

...and it caught on quickly.

Aerobics built up momentum too.

Trampolines were a part of gym class.

But as a kid, nothing beat riding your bike.

Jogging was popular, too.

As was skiing.

The bar was a sign of strength.

Rewinding back to 1970 to see what gyms, athletes, fitness trends, and more looked like 50 years ago.

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